


Impurity

by rei_c



Series: Pan of the Preserve [7]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Demigod Stiles Stilinski, Gen, Magical Stiles Stilinski, POV Stiles Stilinski
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-26
Updated: 2018-09-26
Packaged: 2019-07-17 21:10:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16103870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rei_c/pseuds/rei_c
Summary: There's a fox in the tree. Stiles likes foxes but this one is keeping his tree from growing so it's gonna have to go.or,What happens when a nine-year-old Pan-ling meets a thousand-year-old nogitsune.





	Impurity

"Hi," Stiles says, patting his tree before he jumps up onto the stump, makes himself comfortable. "I'm sorry I haven't been to visit in a couple days but we had a test at school and Mrs. Greene was, like, super demanding and told us that if we didn't do good then she was gonna have to quit and move somewhere less expensive -- don't you think it's dumb that her pay depends on us? We're kids. We don't know anything." 

The tree disagrees. 

Stiles groans, throws his head back and then decides to lie down, spread out. He's been growing, he thinks; his fingers almost reach the edge now. "Okay, so we know things," he concedes. "Just not what's on those stupid tests. I mean, I did. Mostly. Just some of the English is sometimes a little above me. I think it comes from being a Pan? Words are hard. Sometimes they go away entirely, y'know? Or maybe you don't know; you don't really, like, use words. I know what you say, though. I'll translate if you need me to." 

A little piece of bark under Stiles' left big toe scratches its way free and glides across Stiles' skin before falling off the edge of the stump.

"Aw, me too," Stiles says. He lies there, watches the clouds move across the sky for a while, rolls over at one point, then rolls back, itches his nose. Finally, he says, "Can I talk to the fox?" The stump goes cold and Stiles sits up, says, "You know you can't grow with the fox hanging around and we _talked_ about this; I wanna go in _you_ when it's time for me to ripen and for you to be big enough by then, we gotta talk to the fox." Nothing. Stiles waits as long as he can handle it -- not long, probably -- and throws his head back, says, "Ugh, you're just -- you're just the worst, y'know, the worst tree ever and I don't even know why I -- okay, yeah, I can't say it, you're a great tree, you're the best tree, you're _my_ tree and this is hurting you and might be ruining our plans way years in advance and I wanna help fix it so you can grow again and --" 

Stiles stops speaking, blinks in surprise as the ghostly outline of a fox floats into being just in front of his eyes. He goes momentarily cross-eyed trying to focus and then leans back, blinks more when he takes in silver eyes, wicked-sharp teeth, and nine tails flicking silver sparks every which way. 

"Nine tails," he says, blank. "Wow. You're _old_. How come you're still stuck in my tree if you're so old? You should've been able to get out years ago." Stiles narrows his eyes, asks, "You aren't doing it on purpose, are you? Because you're acting like a jerk if you are and you need to stop it and leave my tree alone." 

The fox tilts its head and looks at Stiles with absolute bafflement written in every inch and curve of its eldritch body. It's a look Stiles is very familiar with, even if he's never seen it quite like this, all see-through and floaty. _I'm one thousand years old_ , it says -- somehow, because Stiles can hear it even though it doesn't have a real mouth and even if it did, it's a _fox_ , it shouldn't even have the ability to speak, much less in perfect English. _Do you really think I'd stay in this backwards little town if I had the choice_? 

Stiles frowns, says, "It's not backwards and it's not a little town, it's a _city_ , okay, and I can see how you'd be fed up with it if you didn't want to be here, right, 'cause, I mean, there are times when I don't want to be here but at least I'm not rude about it." 

_You're a strange one_ , the fox says, after a moment. _What are you_? 

"I'm a baby Pan," Stiles says, "and this is my tree. If you wanna leave it, I'll help you, because you being here means my tree can't grow and it really needs to if I wanna ripen in it in a few years and I do. But -- you may already know that, since you're in it. That it's mine, I mean, and that it can't grow." 

The fox sits on its haunches, the outline of its tails glimmering behind it as they curl and twist in a breeze that Stiles doesn't feel. _I've never met a Pan before, baby or otherwise_ , it says. _I have met some maenads through the years. Decent women, every single one of them. Preference for madness rather than chaos, but kin, almost. You're related_?

Stiles crosses his legs, puts his elbows on his legs and rests his chin on his hands. "Super related. My American family lives -- well, the American head of our family and all my strongest cousins live in Louisiana and I go down and see 'em every summer since I turned five, though I have cousins and aunts all over the place. The real head of our family lives in Croatia. Uh, that's in Europe? I dunno if you -- it's kind of a new country but it used to be part of Yugoslavia; there was a war and the whole area's been bananas for years but you might not've heard any of this since you've been trapped? Anyway, that's where we came from and Aunt Vesna reminds me every time I talk to her." He makes a face and then says, in a thickly-accented falsetto, "You mustn't forget, Pan-ling, where _your_ roots are even if you're bonded to a nemeton in California." His voice drops back to normal as he adds, "The only reason I'm here instead of with any of them is because of my tree. The one you're stuck in." 

The fox chuffs, sparks coming out of its mouth to mimic air or spit or -- Stiles isn't exactly sure but it's cool and kind of pretty. _I'd very much like to be unstuck_ , it says, _but even unstuck, I'd need a host._

"I have an idea," Stiles says, immediately. 

_I'm listening_ , the fox replies. 

Stiles bites his lower lip, then says, "My cousin lives here. She wasn't born with a pelt; she's got different magic. I don't _think_ it would conflict with yours. If she agreed, you could jump in her, couldn't you? Until you can find someone you want for real? She could take you to my family or -- or anywhere, really, 'cause Cousin Jessica's a grown-up and no one would think anything of her flying to Louisiana or to Croatia or -- where are you from? Would you like to go back?" 

The fox -- it's kind of hard to explain but something about the fox's magic goes still, wary and thoughtful and a tiny bit bloodthirsty. _I have unfinished business with another kitsune_ , it says. _I'd like to find her._

"Kitsune? So you're from -- wait, _another_? Holy crap, she's gotta be old by now, too," Stiles says. "How're you gonna find her?" 

_I'll be able to sense her once I have a body_ , the fox says, nose twitching. _Our contract still holds enough for that._

Stiles thinks about that for a minute, then nods to himself. "I'll ask Cousin Jessica," he says. "She's good at killing. She won't mind." 

The fox stands, creeps its way to Stiles, gets right up in Stiles' face, says, _I'm a nogitsune. Do you know what that is, little Pan_? 

"Uh," Stiles says. "No? Should I?"

_It means I feed on chaos, pain, and strife_ , the fox says, eyes fixed unerringly on Stiles'. _I eat terror and madness and spit back death._

Stiles is impressed. That's quite the list. "But do you eat, like, real food? People food?" The fox looks taken-aback and Stiles says, "Because I can bring you something? Though I don't know how you'd -- well, I mean, I could make sure Cousin Jessica has some of whatever so you can eat that. Would it work if I poured the food onto the tree? Can you taste it when I feed the tree?" 

The fox stares. _You're not normal_ , it says, like that would somehow be _news_ to Stiles. 

"Yeah, no duh," Stiles says. "I'm a _Pan_ and I'm bonded to a nemeton and a territory even though I'm not even ten yet. Cousin Leelee and Cousin Mel have been telling me I'm not normal for _years_ now. But seriously, important question: food." 

_There's a fly in a bowl in the cellar_ , the fox says, stepping back from Stiles, coils of magic circling its paws. _Take the bowl away from your tree and it'll start to grow again. But I've been using the nemeton's power to stay alive without a host; if I'm gone too long, I'll die._

Stiles reaches out to pet the fox before he realises he won't be able to touch it. He lets his arm fall, growls a little, says, "Well, I'll bring Cousin Jessica here. I'm not sure how long it'll take; sometimes she works, like, crazy hours and she'll need to take time off work to get you wherever you need to go so it won't be right away, but she'll agree to help, I know she will. So, I mean, if you _did_ maybe want snacks before then, what -- uh. What would you like?" 

The fox shakes its head, opens its mouth in something that Stiles thinks is supposed to be a smile. _You're obsessed with food._

"I'm _nine_ ," Stiles says. "Of course I'm obsessed with food. I'm already thinking about what the tree's gonna need once you're free. I think --," and he stops, looks down at the stump, places his hand on it and feels a tremor shake up his arm. He pats the wood fondly. "I think you're gonna finally want some humans. Well, we'll find someone good for the first one and then after that you're gonna have to take what I can get, okay? I'm sure the territory's gonna help but I'm not that old and strong, even though I have _bakkheia_ and that might help but I don't wanna have to depend on it, so you might be stuck with kids for a while."

_You would kill children for your tree_ , the fox says, blankly, like it can't believe what it's hearing. 

Stiles makes a face, says, "It's my tree," like that answers the question. For Stiles, it does. 

The fox licks its teeth and says, _Once I settle my debts, I'll come back to check on you. You're far too interesting to leave alone. And if you want to bring food until your cousin comes to free me, bring something Japanese. I -- there are times I miss my home_.

"Pocky and ramen," Stiles says. "You got it. I'll bring Cousin Jessica to talk to you sometime, okay? But I gotta get home because now I'm hungry and that means it's probably dinner and if I'm not home for dinner then dad freaks out and, believe me, you do not want to see my dad freaking out. It's not pretty." 

_Are you safe_? The fox asks. 

Stiles opens his mouth to answer, then thinks better of it. The fox -- the nogitsune -- is old and magic and can most likely tell when Stiles lies, since it's kind of connected to the tree and the tree can tell when Stiles lies. "Enough," he answers, shrugging one shoulder. "My mom died last year and dad's -- he drinks sometimes and there are times he doesn't want me around because I remind him of my mom and because I'm kind of a lot to handle, being a baby Pan and all, so he might not -- he could be a better dad, I guess. But I love him and I still have him. My friend Scott doesn't have a dad -- I mean, he does, but Mister McCall moved away and only talks to Scott on Scott's birthday and, like, Christmas, and Jackson was adopted so he doesn't know who his father is but he has a dad that chose him, which I think is really cool -- I don't think my dad would choose me if he had a choice, y'know? -- and Danny's dad and Lydia's dad both work out of town a lot so they're around even less than my dad, so it could be worse even though it could also be better. It's just rough right now. We'll figure it out." 

The fox looks as though it wants to lick Stiles' cheek and rest its nose in the hollow of Stiles' throat and maybe ask Stiles to join its pack. It's not an option, even if Stiles doesn't know if nogitsune -- nogitsunes? he'll have to figure out what the plural is -- have packs, because Stiles already has a pack and a family, but Stiles thinks he might be tempted if he was alone. 

_Go, then, little one_ , the fox tells him. _Cause some chaos before you come back to me. I want to hear about it._

"We're going on a field trip to the zoo on Friday," Stiles says, grinning. "I bet I can get some of the reptile and insect house cages open." 

Stiles leaves and, behind him, the fox fades away back into the tree. Laughter follows Stiles all the way to the edge of the preserve, where Cousin Jessica's leaning against her car, waiting for him.

"Hi," Stiles says. "How would you feel about being host to a nogitsune for a few days?" 

Cousin Jessica sighs, says, "Tell me about it on your way home," and ushers Stiles into her car.


End file.
